“Tap your heels together three times!”
One of the most iconic moments of film history occurred when Dorothy Gale, portrayed by the legendary Judy Garland was give the ruby red slippers. It is believed that eight pairs of these shoes were created for the filming of the MGM 1939 masterpiece, The Wizard of Oz. While several of these pairs were unaccounted for, a few have gone to personal collections, and one pair is on display in the Smithsonian museum.
An auction house known as Profiles in History is auctioning off their pair of slippers on December 16th in Los Angeles. Joe Maddalena, the owner of the California based auction house, is quoted as saying
“This is the most important film prop in the world. There is nothing more famous, they are one of the greatest pieces of pop culture in existence.”
They believe that this particular pair was worn during the close up scene that features Dorothy tapping her heels together towards the very end of the movie. The heels show some scuff marks that may have been caused by Judy Garland tapping them together. There is marking on the bottom that reads “Judy Garland #7″. They are most likely not worn for a long length of time during the filming, because other pairs of the slippers have felt covered soles to mute out any tapping noise that would be picked up by the microphones.
They are estimating the ruby slippers to be sold for between $2-3 million. While it’s quite a hefty price tag for a seventy-two year old pair of shoes, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The pair that is on display in the Smithsonian are so popular that the carpet in front of the exhibit has had to be replaced numerous times.
The auction is to be part of a Hollywood memorabilia sale. There is no word as of yet if the sale is benefiting a cause or charity.
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